Story By: Ana Marjanovic, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash
A bogus doctor who forged her qualifications on her home computer has been jailed for life for the murder of three of her patients.
The fake medic – named only as 50-year-old Meike S. under German privacy laws – had dreamed of the prestige that being a medic would bring, judges heard.
So she faked her own qualifications as an anaesthetist and got a job at a hospital accident and emergency unit, the Regional Court of Kassel in Hesse was told.
Prosecutors said Meike S. had to receive a life jail term because of the severity of her crimes.
The accused – who only has a degree in biochemistry – was shaking her head in disbelief when judges announced the verdict.
Her lawyer Sven Schoeller said he would appeal the decision. Schoeller had called for an eight-year jail sentence over 16 cases of GBH.
The court further confirmed attempted murder charges in the case of 10 further patients at a clinic in Fritzlar, a town 30 kilometres (19 miles) from Kassel.
Several former patients of Meike S. will reportedly suffer from health issues for the rest of their lives due to her botched treatment.
Meike S. – who is in her third marriage – ran for mayor in the small Hessian town of Bad Emstal in 2012.
After losing out to her opponent Ralf Pfeiffer, Meike S. reportedly forged documentation on her iMac saying she was a medic so she could get a job in the anesthesiology department of Fritzlar’s Heiligen Geist Hospital.
On the campaign trail, the failed politician told voters: “I work as an emergency doctor. I’m saving lives.”
Meike S. – nicknamed Dr Death by tabloid German media – anaesthetised 450 patients during her work at the hospital between 2015 and 2018.
She was never supervised by a senior doctor and did not have even the most basic medical training.
The court heard how she repeatedly delivered the wrong doses of anaesthetics, ignored sepsis infections and missed many post-surgery complications.
Dirk Metz, a spokesman for the clinic, said: “Her documents were forged in a highly professional manner.
“No one had any suspicions about them, not even at the state’s medical council.”
According to newspaper Bild, Meike S. splashed GBP 50,000 (EUR 59,000) on a luxury car during her career at the hospital.
Investigations started after doubts were raised over her qualifications when she applied for a new job at the renowned private Baltic Sea Clinic in Schoenberg.
Judges questioned around 500 witnesses since the trial started in January 2021.
The Heiligen Geist Hospital announced following the verdict: “This judgement punishes actions that were carried out powered by the suspect’s immense amount of criminal energy.
“The trial has been long, complex but fair. This judgement cannot compensate for the harm that so many people had to endure.”
